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I've been told two different things now and I don't know who to believe. The breeder said between 4 and 5 months. The vet said wait till 6 months. What if we wanted to do it sooner? We can wait if that's what's best but I was just curious.
The general age to get any dog altered is 6 months old. This give them time to properly develop.
Now there are some vets out there (mine is one of them) that do pediatric spaying and neutering (meaning they do it before the puppy is 6 months old). So you could look into finding a vet that does pediatric altering.
What is your reason for wanting it done sooner than 6 months?
I work at a vet clinic and we will spay/neuter as early as 4 months. It's easier on the dogs (at least the way we do it) if you get them altered at a young age. If you alter before the males begin marking, then chances are they wont mark at all. And if you alter a female before her first heat cycle, the chance for cancer is dramatically reduced. We recommend altering at 4 months, especially on large breed dogs. They just seem to recover quicker.
Also, I recommend getting pre-anesthetic bloodwork before letting your pet be sedated.
There is good evidence that 4 months works a well as 6, but unless you are having behavior problems, I would go along with the 6 months the vet wants. There will be very little danger of her coming into season before then.
well what kind of behavior problems are we talking about? she humps my leg a lot, and I mean she really goes to town on it. is that odd? she's almost 3 months now.
At the humane society where I live they spay or neuter all dogs before they're available for adoption. I found it quite alarming that some of the 3 month old pups in their care where already altered.
For me, I personally wouldn't do it until 6 months unless you find a vet that knows about pediatric spaying.
As for the humping. This may not have anyting to do with sexual maturity. My border collie still humps, he's 7 years old and was neutered at 6 months. This may be a dominance issue.
Whatever you decide, good luck with your pup, she's adorable.
As Alty said, I believe the humping has more to do with dominance. It's got nothing to do with anything sexual especially at her age, and being female. She is trying to find her position in the pack.
When you can tell she is about ready to hump, you need to give her a quick and sharp correction right away. Make sure you are consistant with doing it. She'll get the hang of it in no time I'm sure. Yes, she is a cutie, but you sure don't want a Great Dane humping you when she's older...that would hurt, and maybe even break your leg!! LOL!
Yes, she is a cutie, but you sure don't want a Great Dane humping you when she's older...that would hurt, and maybe even break your leg!! LOL!
yes, she's learning. she doesn't do it as often anymore. I do wonder what kind of behavior problems I should be looking for. I realize she's just a puppy but she's a real handful. I've had puppies before that weren't this destructive. lol.
Great Danes can be very destructive until they're older. But now's the time to nip that bad behaviour in the butt. The longer you wait to correct her, the harder it will be.
You can teach an old dog new tricks, but starting from a puppy is the best you can do. There's no such thing as too young to learn. In their packs they learn from the minute they are born, otherwise they wouldn't survive. You're her pack now, the dominant leader, make sure she knows that.
Also remember, she's a dog. The mistake most people make is that they treat their pets like people. They aren't people, they've simply adapted to living with us. They are happiest if there are set rules, boundaries, a clear dominant pack leader. They want to know their place in your pack, if not then they will get destructive because of their confusion.
Yes, I'm pretty much quoting Cesar Milan, but what can I say, that man's a genius.
oh we're not waiting to correct her at all. trust me. lol. I would hate to have a 140 lb Zoe running through the house tearing everything apart. We've had private training with her and I am also taking her to puppy school every Saturday. After dinner I sit down and we go over things that we learned in training and I'll play with her or put some treats in her kong to play with. she's getting better but she still finds it necessary to jump up on the couch and throw all the throw pillows on the floor and leap onto them.
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